No one has personified the Illini's improvement better than Andres Feliz

When Illinois unraveled at Northwestern on Jan. 6, Illini coach Brad Underwood was encouraged by what he saw after the defeat.

“That was a really, really crushed locker room at Evanston,” Underwood recalled. “As much as our locker room was hurting, I was pretty happy inside because they were hurting. It let me know they were bought in and dedicated to working to get better. This team has continued to improve. Watch the film of the first game and keep looking at us and the steps we’ve been taking.”

The Illini were celebrating after Sunday’s 81-76 payback victory against Northwestern at the State Farm Center.

No one has personified the improvement of the Illini (11-18, 7-11 Big Ten) throughout the season better than junior guard Andres Feliz. He scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Illini, making 16 of 17 free throws and shooting 5 of 9 from the floor.

Feliz used the word “aggressive” four times in his postgame news conference.

“I was being aggressive and my teammates were able to find me in transition,” Feliz said. “It feels great being here, being on this team. We’ve been fighting and working hard. We never give up.”

Illinois coaches had talked up their junior-college recruit in the preseason. But by mid-January, the feisty guard had only three double-digit scoring games.

In the first Big Ten game of the season, Feliz scored only two points against Nebraska. In three games in early January, he went a combined 3 of 10 from the field, including a 1-of-4 performance in the loss at Northwestern.

“We were 10, 11 games in,” Underwood said. “It takes junior-college players a semester to get acclimated, and now he’s confident. You’re seeing a guy who can pick and choose his spots. He was terrific tonight.”

Feliz, a junior, is one of several exciting players returning next season for the Illini. Despite Illinois’ struggles this season — including a five-game losing streak in late December and early January — there are clear signs of improvement.

Northwestern, which sits at the bottom of the Big Ten, dropped its 10th straight game and looks like it’s in a spiral with only two games remaining before the conference tournament.

Coach Chris Collins pointed to players being forced into unnatural positions because of injuries but said their second-half spike should make observers realize the team still has a pulse. After shooting only 30 percent and making only 1 of 13 3-point tries in the first half, the Wildcats (12-17, 3-15) shot 50 percent in the second half and hit 6 of 14 3s.

The skid hasn’t been easy for them, Collins said.

“I applaud our guys for their attitude,” he said. “Have they been knocked back? Absolutely. You lose (10) games in a row, you haven’t tasted winning, it’s going to be tough. The morale is going to be hard. Our guys continue to come to practice. We had every reason at halftime to lay down. Our guys didn’t. They kept fighting and got themselves back in the game.”

Neither team will make the NCAA tournament, barring a shocking conference tournament championship.

“You just never know how quickly things can flip,” Collins said. “We need a game where we put it together.”

Both programs are looking for signs they are moving in the right direction. Illinois found a few more reasons to feel encouraged on Sunday.